Sugar Words

How many mothers do you have?

I tried but I lost the count.

My fingers fall short when I try to remember all the people who expressed their motherly love towards me.

You see I have two mothers in my house, one my mom and other my sister. She has been accompanying me in the journey of life from the very beginning. 

I often have fights with her on how she needs to be less of my mother and more of a sister. She looks at me with eyes filled with barrels of love. I re-think if that fight was worth it. For her I am a project, CA in her keeps auditing my life. But I can surely say she wants this project to be her best one.

Driving a little ahead, as the roads of my mother’s life meet me at the crossroads of conversations, I realise my mother’s sister held me when I was born like her own child.

I look at my mother’s sister and keep drawing parallels to my mother. It Is like they are the same equation with different solutions. They follow the same ray on the graph of care. If they didn’t have different faces, I would without a doubt mistaken her for my mother, and not regret it even for a second.

Going ahead into the old town of our family tree, I hear the voice of my grandmother asking me to stay for some more time at her house

As I eat the most delicious Guajarati food made by my grandmother, I listen her talk, she mixes learning with love and adds a pinch of scolding, leaves it to simmer with stories. I taste it as all the flavours burst at the same time in my mouth, I look up and smile.

As I drive towards the last years of my school, I take a halt for snacks, and I meet my best friend there.

Now when I pick up my phone, before I can utter a hello, she starts like an advertisement, you just cannot skip it. In the same breath she tells me I am a complete idiot and tells me to not act like an idiot. I would not mind watching this advertisement time and again.

As I drive to a whole new city and fall sick, unable to open my eyes; strangers turned roommates watch me cry for the first time as the injection pricks my skin, I excruciatingly close my eyes and at that very moment I feel two hands on my forehead, the anaesthetic touch dries all my tears in a snap.

While driving along the road of the same new city I find a friend/hype woman.

As I walk on the stage, for the first time as a spoken word poet. Only one friend in the audience claps like a firecracker. I come back sweaty handed after the performance, she transforms into a ted talk, the best motivation I have ever received

At times you are unable to see the potholes in the road, and I found a friend who you can call the best navigator I have known so far.

Someone who saves me from the troubles that I create for myself. Her advices are ropes that saves me all the time from falling in the pit. Every time I stumble, she calls it a jump in front of everyone, and then teaches me how to walk when we are alone.

And then there is home from where my journey started.

The lady who is the reason I can see hope when they whisper bad news in my ears all the time. The reason why I dare to remove the un and make every dream achievable. Her volcanic eyes teach me to stay calm and humble, feet always on the ground but not being afraid to erupt to display your power when necessary. Her hands have galaxies painted on them and she holds it so well, even perfection becomes a little jealous of her.

This lady is my mom, she is the reason why I could see all the love that people express in different ways and words.

Happy Mother’s Day to every woman who have caressed me like a mother. Who have been proud of me like my mother, who have scolded, loved cared, clapped, hugged me like a Mother.